On September 26, 2024, the opening ceremony of a seed bank of local varieties and crop wild relatives took place in the Rasht district, the bank was established within the framework of the project  “Facilitating the conservation and sustainable use of agrobiodiversity for improved food and nutrition resilience in Tajikistan”. The project is being executed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP) under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan. The project is being implemented with financial support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

The seed bank opening took place at the household “Kukhsori Ajam” of the Jafr jamoat with the attendance of the FAO Acting Representative in the Republic of Tajikistan Aghasi Harutyunyan, as well as representatives of the Department for Environmental Protection and the local executive authority in Rasht, the jamoat administration, and the Head of the National Center on Environmental Action Plan of the CEP RT.

The purpose of establishing a seed bank is to conserve and maintain local varieties and their wild relatives at the community level, as well as to create access for local residents and farmers, in particular women, to quality and climate-resilient seeds of local crop varieties.

The seed bank in Rasht can accommodate around 1500 kg of seeds of different varieties of local seeds, including cereals, millet, oilseeds and nuts. According to preliminary estimates of FAO experts, in case of effective management and high yield, the revolving seed fund of the seed bank can increase to 600 - 800 kg per year.

All efforts of the FAO project are aimed at creating access for local residents, especially women and vulnerable populations, to quality and climate-resistant seeds, which will have a positive impact on improving crop production, food security and nutrition.  The project also makes a significant contribution to implementation of the national action plan and measures for the conservation and sustainable use of agrobiodiversity in rural areas, through the conservation and revival of rare and local varieties of crops, which constitute a genetic resource valuable for food and science.